


Teatime with Rhea and Seteth

by Doukz



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Curse AU, HEAVY LORE SPOILERS, Mentions of Seiros and saint Cichol, about things regarding the AU, mentions of flayn, seteth and rhea have a chat, tea time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-06 22:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20514692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doukz/pseuds/Doukz
Summary: Seteth has requested a private meeting with Lady Rhea to discuss the worrying particulars of his condition. Rhea has agreed, and is eager to catch up with her old friend over tea, however worried he may be. Seteth, on the other hand, isn't as excited.





	Teatime with Rhea and Seteth

**Author's Note:**

> ==Warning==  
HEAVY LORE SPOILERS Involving these characters:  
-Rhea  
-Seteth  
If you don't know them that well you've been warned!
> 
> This is super quick, I started it yesterday, passed out, and finished it today :0 Also have an animatic in progress for the same AU this oneshot covers! (assuming I ever finish it, the WIP is almost done though)  
they might sound a liiiiitle ooc/rushed I'm not sure I don't proofread things

"Lady Seiros-“ Seteth began almost immediately as the two sat down at the small desk. Rhea had insisted she make tea for the occasion, which had done nothing for her advisor but further his own anxieties and postpone the inevitable questions he had for her. She took silent glee in teasing him like this, but made no effort to point it out. He knew her antics well at this point.

“Please, we’ve been over this before, Seteth. You may call me Rhea now. And the formalities are unnecessary.” She interrupted quickly, her calm voice doing nothing to placate the intensity of her friend’s voice when he sighed and continued.

“Right, well… Lady Rhea,” he could not bring himself to drop the title- she had done too much for him and Flayn and he knew her too little since their last real interactions for him to be ignoring something as important to the church as titles like archbishop. They weren’t friends anymore, he was always quick to remind himself, “I assume you’ve an idea of why I requested a formal meeting. Though I can’t attest to how formal sharing tea and biscuits is, but I digress.”

“Of course I have an idea, more than that perhaps, but I would rather simply hear you out instead.” She smiled at him with a knowing sparkle in her eye he didn’t particularly enjoy. Oh how she loved to antagonize him- Rhea always had a way of waving knowledge in front of him. Only in passive ways and never for anything he would not find out eventually, but being a few steps behind her at all times frustrated him.

“… Right. I wanted to ask you- why let us stay here? Flayn I can understand of course, she is pure and innocent, but why allow me to walk these grounds, knowing my… Situation?” Seteth spoke. His eyes searched hers for some dark motivation or depressing truth, but found he could not read her any better than usual.

“Your condition has nothing to do with my hospitality towards you and Flayn. I trust you, Seteth, is that not enough for you?” Rhea answered with the same calm demeanor as she lifted a cup to taste the brand of Angelica tea. Sadly she did not have the means to supply Seteth’s favorite (four-spice blend was a bit of an exotic tea), so they had to suffice with her own preferred tastes this time around. She would be sure to make up for it sometime soon once some of that tea was finally shipped in.

“No, I’m afraid it is not enough for me. I cannot be at peace with you simply ‘trusting’ my ability to keep it under control.” His brow furrowed as his speech only intensified, lowering as he looked down at his own hands he had cupped around his tea he’d refused to drink yet. He didn’t have the appetite for anything right now, but he’d take a small sip later if he must.

Rhea took a moment for another sip before replying. “I see.” She said, so simply- Seteth never liked how simple she could sound in such important conversations. “What might I ask spurred you to come to me about this? I only ask considering we talked through this before, and you seemed almost keen to keep the topic suppressed then.”

“I… See you’re avoiding the question, Lady Rhea. But in truth, it’s because since me and Flayn have arrived at the monastery, it has… Gotten harder to control it.” He admitted quietly. He was suddenly thankful for the warmth of the cup, as even uttering it had made his body run cold with anxiety.

“That is most unfortunate.” Rhea reacted without much more than a soft sadness as she looked over Seteth with what he would have amounted to pity, but she felt was real concern. Not that the trust she placed had faltered any, no, surely the goddess would protect and look over one as holy and important as him in a place reserved for only those devout to her teachings, but the lingering worry of his wellbeing weighed heavily upon her mind.

And yet, she had anticipated this. Rhea was an incredibly observant figure- having a thousand years to watch living beings does that to people- and she had seen his occasional but more frequent twitching, the way he would sometimes hiss in pain or whisper curses under his breath at himself when he accidentally broke another quail due to a sudden cramp in his arm that wasn’t from the copious papers he went through. Every little extra grimace spoke more about his situation than he would ever with his own words.

“Do you have any indication as to what might be causing this?” She opted for another question. Rhea had her own theories, but decided it best to keep them to herself for now. One idea that had been preying upon her recently, after all, might be cause for him to leave the monastery. And despite having not seen him or Flayn in nearly a thousand years she could not bear to lose such old friends again.

“… None as of yet.” Seteth answered with a harsh distaste in his mouth. He hated not knowing the how and why of things. It was only made worse that this was about himself and something he’d dealt with for centuries that he somehow did not have an answer for. Centuries to find an answer and a cure, and yet here he was, babbling to someone he hardly knew anymore. “That is one of the reasons I wanted to ask you. But it seems you’re more intent on prying information out of _me_.” His sentence ended with a sharp sense of annoyance and disdain for the conversation.

Sensing his obvious wish to turn the tides of this talk of theirs, Rhea smiled as she took another sip of tea and closed her eyes. “My apologies for making this conversation hard for you. It’s only fair I answer honestly, so tell me Seteth; what of my knowledge would you like to know?” She asked as she placed the small cup down to pour herself another, subtly raising an eyebrow as she glanced from Seteth’s cup to him. He noticed and let out a sigh as he reluctantly began to nurse his own cup.

“Perhaps we should start with you recounting what you know of my condition. I remember well what I told you after I arrived, but I’m sure you have acquired some further insight from your own observations.” He requested. His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that came from both the severity of this situation to him and his quiet insistence that she let out whatever it was he knew that she wasn’t letting on.

“That could prove beneficial.” She nodded and placed her hands together to recount the only other time this topic had been brought up. “The Red Canyon tragedy is where this issue arose from.”

“One of the ten elites had a weapon enchanted with a curse, or so we can assume, and he attacked you with it.”

“Impaled me.” Seteth added swiftly and sourly.

“I was avoiding the finer details, but yes. That curse, it… It looked as though it was consuming all the light in you. You had already landed the fatal blow to that sinner before then, so he was dead soon after you were nearly killed from the wound and unconscious.” Rhea recounted slowly. Some of the smallest details were missing after a thousand years, but the event was burned into her memory enough for her to never forget the important parts.

“But you lived. And when you awoke it was as if the goddess herself lifted the curse from your eyes as they returned from a dark emptiness. But… That it is also when your issue began.” The archbishop’s eyes grew sadder. Seteth assumed she must be trying to measure what this curse had done to him over a thousand years, but he knew even she could not grasp its consequences.

“Ever since then your dragon form has been unattainable, correct?” She asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to affirm nonetheless.

Seteth nodded, “In a sense.” Suddenly he was hesitant to answer in detail. She had figured he would confirm and then some. He winced- she took notice.

“Seteth, I thought you came here to discuss this in greater detail than the hushed explanation you gave me a few weeks ago. Are you having second thoughts?” She inquired. The way he grimaced before answering told her what she needed to know.

“No, no, it’s just- it’s a harder subject to discuss than I had anticipated. Keeping this to myself and Flayn for centuries… Opening up about it is no small task.” He admitted as he grimaced and put a hand to his forehead.

“I understand. We’ll take it slowly, then-“ Rhea began, but was interrupted by a succession of quick knocks at her door. Her brow furrowed only slightly before she recomposed herself quickly.

“You may come in.” Her voice was still quiet, and yet reached just loud enough for the person on the other side to hear her. Immediately the door swung open as a guard almost ran in, skittering to a halt beside Seteth in front of the desk. Seteth inched away from him in his seat, clearly annoyed by the clear lack of personal space this guard had and his ridiculously large armor.

“Oh- you were in the middle of a meeting! I’m sorry Lady Rhea!” The guard apologized immediately, but his voice held no lack of pep and grandeur. Seteth couldn’t see his face past the huge spiked shoulder pad but could envision a grand smile plastered on a dopey face.

“Ah, Alois. Do not worry yourself over it- what is the matter?” Rhea dismissed his apology as she glanced at Seteth and almost giggled at the annoyance on his face from the close proximity of the knight.

“Oh, well! We have some bandits closer to the monastery than we’d like.”

“Bandits? And why haven’t they been dealt with?” Rhea inquired, smile faltering. She would not have liked to have been interrupted due to a small group of thieves, and she knew Alois, so there must have been something wrong.

“Ah, well it appears that they’ve gotten themselves involved with some beasts- and priests.”

“Priests? Are members of the church stuck down there in the middle of the fight?” Rhea stood up from her seat, irises shrinking subtly. Seteth noticed the way her hands quivered slightly, she was scared for them. A thousand years hadn’t dulled her sense of empathy too much then.

“Yes! A patrol of knights has already been sent down there, but we need your opinion before we send in the next battalion- I’d be joining that one.” Alois responded quickly as he stepped away from Seteth and towards the door to leave with Rhea. A second opinon… Seteth was literally her advisor now, could he not have asked him? Rhea knew a lot about monsters, surely, but he had plenty of experience during his time hiding.

Seteth grimaced, and his eye contact with Rhea showed her concern. He hated pity, but he was happy this Alois character hadn’t actually come to him right now anyways. The cramping in his arm would distract from proper conversation.

“I suppose we will have to continue this conversation again soon, Seteth. Alois?” She turned to the knight, who Seteth could now see the face of and was correct in his thoughts- a large confident smile seemed stuck to his face despite the situation. “Wait for me downstairs. I will join you in one moment.” Alois nodded and was off in an instant. Her gaze returned to Seteth, who was still sitting down.

“In a moment? Shouldn’t you be worried about your priests more than me, Lady Rhea?” It came out with a slight air of contempt he couldn’t manage to withhold. He was in no dire need, but god his arm was in a great deal of pain suddenly and he found himself trying to hold it against his body to stop it to no avail. His eyes did not bother trying to meet hers; too busy trained on the ground trying to maintain a calm expression.

“Seteth. I know your condition is paining you right now, there’s no use hiding it. Please, you do not have to act so brave around me, I am a friend.” She placed a hand on his shoulder that he flinched away from.

“Rhea,” he ignored the formalities for once, “the very core of this affliction is evil- it is no mere condition, nor is it something I can simply work through. For a saint- someone who is supposed to be thought of as a valiant figure, this curse is nothing short of humiliating.”

Rhea closed her eyes and thought for a moment before nodding. “I see. I suppose I do not understand the complete nature of your condition. We’ll continue this conversation as soon as conveniently possible so that I may truly grasp it to help you.” She turned to leave, but as she was exiting the office Seteth spoke once more.

“And Lady Seiros. With all due respect, it has been centuries since we last spoke. You have changed. I can no longer say we are friends right now.” He felt the need to express this, even if it was harsh. He put it as bluntly as he could- even using her old, real name- and he meant it. He hardly knew Rhea now. She kept information from him, acted with a softness he had thought her almost not possible of after the Red Canyon Tragedy, she was… An entirely different person. All spunk and fervor in her seemed to have been replaced by this new distant, passive archbishop he no longer knew.

“Your words hurt deeply, Cichol.” Seiros said quietly before she left the office and off to her duty.

Seteth, left alone with his aching curse, wondered if she really meant what she said.

**Author's Note:**

> Tried to keep the conversation at least intriguing without straight up dumping the AU info out on the table! Hope you liked the tea time they shared!


End file.
